Hispanic foods are increasingly featured on menus in both ethnic and mainstream quick-service and fast-casual restaurants throughout the country. But are they the right foodservice fit for your convenience store?

Many c-stores are serving up Hispanic fare ranging from the ubiquitous taco (including a “walking” version made in a Doritos bag) to quesadillas, tamales, burritos, empanadas, nachos and even Mexican pizza that span the breakfast, lunch and dinner dayparts. There are also roller grill taquitos, tornados and roller bites featuring ethnic flavor profiles and ingredients.

While many of these foods have gone mainstream, it would be helpful in determining how much to focus on these flavor profiles to have some idea if any of your stores have a high traffic count of Hispanic customers. One way of determining the Hispanic traffic count in your stores is by tracking the sales of beer such as Mexican Corona and Puerto Rican Modelo.

Mexican Coke is also popular among the Latinx populations as are carbonated and non-carbonated fruit beverages in exotic flavors such as mango, passionfruit and guava.

Mainstream interest can be gauged by offering a generally familiar Hispanic item such as a made-to-order, hot-hold or microwavable taco as a limited-time offer (LTO) on your deli menu.

Another effective way to find out how adventurous your customers’ palates are is by introducing a new snack item such as jalapeño poppers or mini tacos. Promote the LTO and snack items through in-store signage, social media and menu board call-out.

On deli sandwiches, you can offer the option of Monterey Jack cheese or feature a Cuban sandwich. If you have a sandwich customization station in your deli, add some Hispanic-centric condiments such as hot sauce, jalapeño peppers and salsa as a trial run.

The easiest way to find out if your customers are ready for some Latin flair is to ask them. And if they answer in the affirmative, ask them what items they would like to see added to your menu.